Noble Hospitality’s core focus this year will be to build and strengthen international partnerships to grow its new and established brands, according to CEO Paul Sarlas and Chotto Matte’s founder Kurt Zdesar.
“We’re always looking for partners, we have very good relationships internationally with Chotto Matte and we will look for more of that with our other brands”, Sarlas tells MCA.
The group, which owns Angus Steakhouse, Steak and Company, and Chotto Matte, is now headed up by Sarlas, who joined as chief executive in January, after tenures as managing director at all three businesses.
“I think it’s a good time for us, and I see the next few years being positive.
“While a lot of restaurant groups may be looking to tighten up, we are growing”, Sarlas adds.
For the Nikkei cuisine concept, Chotto Matte, imminent launches over the next year include Riyadh, Manchester, Dubai and Tbilisi, Georgia.
The brand currently has six locations, including two in London and one each in Doha, San Francisco, Miami, and Toronto.
“There are other deals in the pipeline as well,” says Zdesar, who first opened Chotto Matte on the corner of Soho’s Frith Street and Bateman Street in 2013.
“For Chotto it is a very exciting period ahead of us. The expansion of our franchised portfolio is going to be very good for our business.”
Breaking into new cities
After getting its foot into the American market with Chotto Matte Miami in 2018, the first site outside of London, the brand saw the US as a good place to spearhead expansion, says Zdesar.
“We looked at other markets in America, and San Francisco became a point of interest.
In Union Square, Chotto now occupies a rooftop of circa 18,000 square feet with views across the city.
“The way it’s trading today, it does as much as all the restaurants put together, so it’s certainly surpassed our expectation.”
“It’s been profitable from the month we opened, which I’ve never seen in my whole career of 30 years”
In the UK, the initial plan was to open one Chotto Matte in every city .
“We broke that rule in London with a second site in Mayfair, but that was really about seeing if there could be a different variation of our model,” explains Zdesar.
Traditionally occupying sites of 10,000 square feet or more, the brand’s Mayfair site is much smaller, and doesn’t offer every aspect of the Chotto experience.
“It also shows us that there’s potential to open smaller variants of our brands.
“The one set model has the sushi bar, DJ, the lounge, the nightclub in the basement and, and the dining room on another level.
“But now we can start looking at it in fragmented versions where there are reduced features but still offering the Chotto experience.
Discussing its first UK site outside of London, Zdesar says Manchester was “a big decision.”
In the future, he would “look at other cities when they make sense”, with Bristol, Liverpool or Birmingham all up for discussion.
“We need to really investigate that, but we’ll see how Manchester performs first.”
In the brand’s ten-year history, Zdesar says one key change has been a focus on localisation.
“What we do in Soho doesn’t necessarily mean it will work in Miami, and vice versa. So, we always try to adapt to the local markets.
Emerging concepts
The group’s newest venture, Alley Cats Pizza, a New York style pizzeria, opened in Marylebone at the beginning of the year, and has since “taken off”, says Sarlas.
The concept will open a second site in the next two to three months and is set to expand its portfolio across the capital to cater to the growing demand for artisanal pizza.
“Keeping it local”, Alley Cats will remain “community driven”, with plans to open 12 to 15 sites in London, within a three-year timeline.
Looking forward, he sees potential to move into franchising and the business is already in talks with partners in the UAE and other territories.
“It is a very scalable model, we’re quite unique in what we offer; it’s very cost effective and it’s a product that’s in demand. So, we want to grow quite fast.”
After a recent trip to New York to tour its pizzerias, Sarlas says, “What we discovered quite quickly was the way these places are built, it’s not about what you get in the environment. It’s all about the product.
“We just incorporated that; people are more interested in what they get on the plate, rather than their surroundings.
Off the back of the Alley Cats launch, Sarlas revealed that Noble has plans to grow a “more diverse portfolio.”
Notably, a “Antipodean-style brasserie” slated to open in London later this year.
“In terms of smaller concepts, there are others we’re planning”
Future ventures would employ a similar model to Alley Cats, which Sarlas describes as “a bit more accessible”.
“I think what we appreciate in this market, is a push to find more affordable ways to dine.
“We want to cater to that market,” he explains.
Angus Steakhouse reinvented
The group’s longest existing brand, Angus Steakhouse is not being left behind.
Although not a “major” rebrand, Sarlas says the task of the last 12 months has been to “reiterate the message of who we are.”
“We really want to emphasise the fact that we’re British.
“And then second to that was the service standards; making sure that the customers are getting very good value for money on that framework.”
Angus Steakhouse is looking for a new location to open early next year, with plans to open one or two rebranded Angus Steakhouses before returning to refurbish the rest of the estate.
“It’s a brand you don’t want to be messing around too much with because it is successful, and we have a very good, loyal customer base.
“I’m going to keep a lot of the heritage, and there’s some icons within the design that we would not change, because that’s what people are coming for.
“It’s about reinvesting in the business, and rewarding our customers for what they’ve contributed over the years.”
Like Chotto Matte, the steakhouse brand is in conversation with new and existing partners internationally.
“Once we launched the new model, we’d love to take it outside of London,” the CEO adds.
